Tomima's Blog – Lingerie & Underwear Expert

(un)covering what's under everything

The Undie Award Winners for 2008

May 28, 2008

This is our Second Annual Undie Awards.  Last year, we had over 12,000 votes.  This years voting brought in more than 15,000, and is the first year that men got to vote on their favorite underwear too.  The Undie Awards are all about finding out what lingerie/underwear  America loves to wear.

The winners fall into two categories.  First, we give  you The Undie Award for the garment receiving the most votes in its category.  We also provide The Undie Select Award as well.  This award is given to a garment we feel deserves attention in the category.  There are many great garments that for reasons of distribution, aren’t as well known.  The Undie Select Award gives these lesser known garments an opportunity to be recognized. In fact, two Undie Select winners last year are this years Undie Award Winners.

So, here are the 2008 Undie Award Winners:

 

Womens:

Favorite Overall Bra:

            Average:           Vanity Fair Body Sleeks Contour Stretch Bra 75-266

            Full Figure:      Vanity Fair 75-005 and 75-134 (tie)

Favorite Overall Panty:

                                    Vanity Fair Perfectly Yours Ravissant Brief 15712

Favorite Overall Shapewear:

                                    Spanx Power Panties 004

Select:

                                    TC Fine Shapewear Firm Control Camisole 444

Favorite Sports Bra:

            Average:          Lily of France In Action Sports Bra 2101755

            Full Figure:      Enell Sports Bra 100

Select:

            Average:          Moving Comfort Cara Sports Bra 728460

            Full Figure:      Goddess Sports Bra 5056

Favorite Strapless Bra:

            Average:          Maidenform One Fabulous Fit Strapless Bra 7955

            Full Figure:      Goddess Cantilevered Strapless Bra 391

Select:

            Average:          Wacoal Halo Lace Seamless Convertible Bra 65449

            Full Figure:      Fantasie Smoothing Seamless Strapless Bra 4530

Favorite T-Shirt Bra:

            Average:          Chantelle Body Sculpt T-shirt Underwire Bra 2895

            Full Figure:      Le Mystere Renaissance Tisha Bra 9955

Select:

            Average:          Hanro Sensual Deep Plunge Underwire Bra 1263

            Full Figure:      elomi Smoothing Foam Underwire Bra 1220

Favorite Seamless Bra:

            Average:      Elita Silk Magic Cross Over Bra 8838

            Full Figure:      Fantasie Seamless Molded Balcony Bra 4520

Select:

            Average:          Bali Smooth Compliments Underwire Bra 3100

            Full Figure:      Anita Seamless Underwire Bra 5490

Favorite Minimizer Bra:

                                    Wacoal Seamless Minimizer Bra 85154

Select:

                                    Olga Sheer Tapestry Full Figure Minimizer Bra 35984

Favorite Push-Up Bra:

                                    Wonderbra Gel Satin Push-Up Bra 7234

Select:

                                    Calvin Klein Perfectly Fit Push-Up Bra F2541

 

Favorite Brief:

            Full Cut:          Bali Skimp Skamp Brief 2633

            Hi-Cut:            Vanity Fair Sophia Hi-Cut Brief 13072

Select:

            Full Cut:          Calida Ajour Brief 21060

            Hi-Cut:            OnGossamer Mesh Hi-Cut Brief 3012

Favorite Bikini:

                                    Barely There Invisible Look Modal Bikini 2113

Select:

                                    Barely There Jeanious Bikini 2548

Favorite Thong:

                                    Hanky Panky Thong 4911

Select:

                                    Elita Silk Magic Thong 8831

Favorite Boy Short:

                                    Barely There Flawless Fit Boyshort 2855

Select:

                                    Natori Body Doubles Femme Hipster 153002

Favorite G-String:

                                    La Perla Sexy Town G-String 2353

Select:

                                    Natori Lace Trim Body Doubles G-String 157001

 

 

Mens:

Favorite Boxers:

            Woven:            Mansilk Silk Satin Boxer M333

             Knit:               Tommy Hilfiger Knit Boxer U62512231

Select:

            Woven:            Hanro Retro Boxer 3829

            Knit:                Adam+Eve Undershorts ABJB7

Favorite Boxer Briefs:

                                    Tommy Hilfiger boxer Brief U62512229

Select:

                                    Calvin Klein Tech Active Boxer Brief U2724

Favorite Briefs:

                                    Munsingwear Full Rise Pouch Brief MW21

Select:

                                    2xist Contour Pouch Brief 3103 and 3103C

Favorite Jock:

                                    C-in2 Bamboo Street Jock 3068

Select:

                                    Bike Performance Cotton Strap Supporter BASP17

Favorite Thong:

(tie)                             2xist Original “Y” Backed Thong 3102

                                    Calvin Klein Steel Thong U2706

Select:

                                    Grigioperla Skin Thong 0022174

Favorite T-Shirt:

                                    Hanes Crew Neck T-Shirt 2136

Select:

                                    Schiesser Original Fine Rib Seamless V-Neck T-Shirt 05-123

 

 See all the winners at www.theundies.com/winners.aspx

Posted by Tomima at 8:30am
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Andrew Christian Visits Dallas

April 17, 2008

On April 12th,Andrew Christian arrived in Dallas for the weekend to make a couple special appearances.  First stop was the store Union Jack on Oaklawn.  The crowd was huge for his 2 hour appearance where he signed photos and underwear.  Later that night a fashion show of Andrew Christian underwear could be seen at a very popular bar and grill in Oaklawn called JR’s.  Again, the bar was packed as local models strutted and received cat calls.

My buyer for HisRoom, Tom Johnson, was invited to dinner with Andrew.  It was a great opportunity to hear first hand what Andrew is doing, and his plans to grow the Andrew Christian line.

Andrew has been designing for over ten years.  Though he designs sportswear underwear and swimsuits, his recent notoriety is with underwear.  Andrew attributes this recent success to a number of things including his episode on the TV show "The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency."  This national recognition really catipulted his underwear brand.  As a result, his brand is receiving international attention, and he now is selling to accounts all over the world.

One of the many special things about the Andrew Christian line is that all his products are made in the USA.  That’s right, he is one of the very few underwear lines that has all their products made in America. His operation is based in Los Angeles and he keeps a very lean team of just 15 employees.

Tom was also impressed with Andrew’s thoughtful approach to his customer.  We’ve all heard of a metrosexual, but Andrew also spoke of a technosexual.  This is someone who is very interested in the technical aspects of a product.  For example, is the product made in organic cotton and not just cotton.  Does the fabric wick, what kind of microfiber is used etc.  This technosexual needs to know the specifics of a garment before he will purchase it.

Andrew Christian underwear is atheletic inspired.  You will see lifeguard, nautical and sailor themes as well as coloring in his underwear.  It’s great classic underwear that fits well and is made in performance fabrics.  This is Andrew Christian’s winning combination.  We at HisRoom.com are excited to be selling the Andrew Christian brand of underwear

 

Posted by Tomima at 11:22am
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A Guy’s Guide to T-Shirts and Undershirts

March 14, 2008

Guy Fashion 101: T-shirts and undershirts are not the same. Undershirts should not be worn as t-shirts and vice versa. If you got it for free, it’s probably cheap and ill-fitting. Every guy should own a wardrobe of both undershirts and t-shirts. These are the rules.

Let’s begin with undershirts. An undershirt is designed to be worn UNDER another shirt. It’s primary purpose is to catch perspiration and, in the winter, to add warmth. A proper undershirt is one that is form-fitting, not too thick, and has the right neckline so that it can’t be seen under the top shirt. For example, you want to wear an open button down shirt. Wear a v-neck undershirt, and have it be long sleeve if you want added warmth. Of course, an undershirt should also be all cotton in order to absorb perspiration.

How many undershirts should a guy have? It really depends on your lifestyle. If you wear a suit and tie every day, you should have at least two weeks worth of undershirts. This will cover you for travel or lags in your weekly laundry. Styles again depend on preference. Some men hate the look of a short sleeve undershirt under their shirts. Then the answer is to get a sleeveless undershirt. Some men like their undershirt to be visible at the neckline. So buy crew neck undershirts.

Final notes on undershirts. They should be white, so bleach them. When the underarms become yellow, throw them out. Don’t buy them too big, or you’ll have layering and "tucking in" issues.

Now for t-shirts. T-shirts are more about fashion. The size and cut should flatter your physique. I interviewed Jason Scarlatti – designer for the 2(X)ist brand – and Gregory Sovell - designer for C-in2 brand and former designer for 2(X)ist – and asked them about the fit and look of t-shirts on men. Both agreed that most men wear t-shirts that are too large for them. This is probably because t-shirts used to shrink. Now, they are made-pre-shrunk, but men haven’t caught up with this fact. The second point both made is that the beefier or thicker the t-shirt, the lower the quality. And, the quality of a t-shirt can quickly be determined by looking at the price – the higher the price, the better and softer the t-shirt.

Scarlatti was very specific about the fit of a t-shirt. The new look in t-shirts is to try and capture the James Dean image – short sleeve that stops at the bicept,  fitted but comfortable across the chest, straight down the sides, and ends 2" below the belt or at the bottom of the fly. This, Scarlatti says is the look most men in fairly good shape should strive for.

Sovall made the same James Dean analogy, but went into detail about the sleeve. He said if you can run a pole through the sleeves of a t-shirt and it lays flat like a flag, the t-shirt will not fit nicely. The key is to find a cap sleeve. To tell if the t-shirt has a cap sleeve, lay the t-shirt down flat on a table. If the sleeve openings point downward, and can’t be layed completely flat, that t-shirt has a cap sleeve and a better fit. When your arm is down, the sleeve won’t have that strange fly-away flag look, and will not have the bunched fabric look under the arm.

The number of t-shirts in your wardrobe, again, depends on your lifestyle. However, they should be good quality, fit well and be of a color that is flattering. Black is always good and makes the wearer look thinner.

Find t-shirts and undershirts at HisRoom.

Posted by Tomima at 10:45am
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